A bill in the Colorado House would ban red-light traffic cameras, like this one at East Sixth Avenue and East Speer Boulevard in Denver. (Helen H. Richardson, Denver Post file photo)

A bill that effectively bans red-light cameras and photo radar is stalled in the House after a Democratic lawmaker “complicated” the situation by voting for the measure when it had been expected to die in committee or at least be changed to a study.

“I told people that I would probably oppose the bill,” said Rep. Jonathan Singer, D-Longmont, but he instead he voted with Republicans in the Appropriations Committee last Friday to send the measure to the House for debate.

“I think it’s fair to say that people are frustrated that I complicated it,” Singer said Wednesday.

The bill so far has not been called up for debate; the session must end by midnight one week from today.

The Colorado Municipal League and various police officials oppose House Bill 1098, saying such devices enhance public safety. The bill would ban local governments from using vehicle-identification systems to identify the owners of vehicles suspected of the traffic violations.

WASHINGTON — Students from kindergarten to high school would get broad new protections for their digital information under a bipartisan bill introduced Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, and Luke Messer, R-Ind.

The measure, which has been in the works for months, seeks to address growing concerns by parents about the use of technology in U.S. schools and the amount of data collected by education companies.

President Barack Obama called for new such rules in January and the Polis-Messer bill would prohibit the sale of a student’s data to third parties, force tech companies to disclose the data they are collecting and grant new enforcement powers to the Federal Trade Commission.

“The status quo surrounding the protection of our student’s data is entirely unacceptable,” Polis said in a statement. “It’s like the wild wild West — there are few regulations protecting student’s privacy and parental rights, and the ones that do exist were written in an age before smartphones and tablets.”

The bill’s introduction hasn’t been all smooth.

Polis and Messer were set to drop the measure a month ago but last-minute criticism from parents and privacy advocates compelled the lawmakers to rewrite some sections.

Polis said in a press call that one major change was that tech companies now would be required to tell parents about the type of student information that could be disclosed.

But Polis, who made a fortune in the online world before coming to Congress, said it was critical that the new rules are not too restrictive, as there could be “immense positive benefits” to data collection in schools.

The measure would allow companies to use the information they gather in schools to tweak and improve their own products.

Using one of these official ballot-drop boxes means you don’t have to depend on the Post Office. (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

Without a strong mayor’s race, the Denver election so far is failing to light a fire under voters to return their ballots. With one week to go, just 10.9 percent of ballots had been returned as of Monday.

State Rep. John Buckner, an educator for 40 years and the former principal at Overland High, will be marked down as absent due to illness for the rest of the legislative session.

House Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst of Boulder County read a letter from Buckner Tuesday morning on the House floor notifying colleagues he was stepping aside for the last week of the session. He has a short-term illness from which he’s expected to recover. He had missed several days over the past week.

“I am sure by now many of you have noticed that I have been absent from the legislature this past week,” the 67-year-old Aurora Democrat stated in his letter. “While I am sure some of you are relieved to get a break from me, don’t think for a moment that you’ve run me off!

An officer performs a field sobriety test. (The Denver Post file| Andy Cross)

A years-long push at the statehouse to make repeated drunk driving a felony charge moved a step closer to final approval after receiving support from a state Senate panel Tuesday.

The felony DUI bill — introduced each year since at least 2010 — is advancing with bipartisan support and the backing of Gov. John Hickenlooper, who made it one of his administration’s top priorities this session.

“This is a serious problem and takes lives nearly every day on the highways and roadways in Colorado,” said Dave Hall, a lobbyist for the Colorado State Patrol, testifying on behalf of the Hickenlooper administration.

Meg Froelich, who along with Laura Hoeppner produced what will be an upcoming documentary film, “Strong Sisters,” at a luncheon Monday sponsored by McKenna, Long & Aldrige law firm. The fundraiser is to help get the film made and aired. (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

Nissa Szabo, a former House legislative aide who now is the government affairs manager at the Colorado Technology Association, with former House Majority Leader Amy Stephens at the fundraising lunch Monday for “Strong Sisters.” (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

Colorado has yet to elect a female governor or U.S. senator or mayor of Denver, a Centennial State trend that an upcoming documentary film “Strong Sisters” will explore.

Among the more than 60 women interviewed for the project was former House Majority Leader Amy Stephens, a Monument Republican who briefly ran for the U.S. Senate in 2014. She was so impressed with the work she is helping raise money to turn the oral histories into a documentary with hopes of getting it aired on TV.

“I want us to cross the finish line,” said Stephens, now director of government affairs for McKenna Long & Alrdrige law firm, which sponsored the luncheon. “This is a history of women in Colorado, particularly those who dare to run for office.”

New Colorado State Senate President Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, presides over the Senate during the opening session of the 2015 Colorado Legislature. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

A measure to allow for murder charges in the death of an unborn child won initial approval in the state Senate on Monday, an eventful start to the final full week of the General Assembly session.

The bill, sponsored by Senate President Bill Cadman, emerged after the assault of a pregnant Longmont woman whose 7-month-old fetus was cut from her womb and later died.

Cadman, a Colorado Springs Republican, said the attack on Michelle Wilkins is just the latest case in the state that demands justice for the pregnant woman and the unborn child.

“It would provide for a law that would fill a significant gap,” he said.

The voice vote to approve the bill — which came after a lengthy debate — and votes on amendments indicated that the bill is likely to pass 18-17 along party lines with the majority Republicans in favor. But the Democratic House is expected to block it.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper attended the 2015 White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, as seen here on a CNN broadcast of the event.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Saturday attended the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in the nation’s capital, the first stop on a five-day, jet-setting trip that will take him from coast to coast.

The celebrity studded dinner celebrates the Washington media sphere and Hickenlooper went as a guest of Reuters, a news wire service. He made a cameo in the televised broadcast after President Barack Obama’s laugh line on Cuba. (See CNN video “President jokes at White House Correspondents Dinner”.)

His travel occurs just as the General Assembly hits the homestretch in the final full week — a week in which the governor wants lawmakers to consider his major spending proposal.

Gigi Dennis, right, who has been hired as the county administrator for Alamosa County, with Rep. Polly Lawrence, R-Douglas County, and then-Secretary of State Gessler at the Denver Rustlers luncheon in 2013. (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

Gigi Dennis on May 18 will add another line to her already impressive resume: county administrator of Alamosa County.

Dennis, a Republican, represented 10 rural counties, including Alamosa, in the state Senate from 1994 to 2001. From there she was the state director rural development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to 2005, when then-Gov. Owens in 2005 appointed her to serve as Colorado secretary of state. In 2007, she joined Tri-State Generation and Transmission, where she now is senior manager of external affairs.

“Gigi grew up in Monte Vista. She will be able to work with a variety of people and brings successful local, state and federal networking with her to the county,” Alamosa County said in a note announcing the release.

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Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.